Family says kindergarten student choked on tack

The 5-year-old boy who died on a Marlborough school bus yesterday was a kindergarten student named Darnell Cobb, officials said earlier today.

Matt Lynch

The 5-year-old boy who died on a Marlborough school bus Wednesday was a kindergarten student named Darnell Cobb, officials said earlier today.

In a press conference at Central Fire Station - a few hundred yards away from where the bus pulled over yesterday - Mayor Nancy Stevens said Cobb was unconscious when paramedics arrived at the bus. Efforts by emergency responders and Marlborough Hosptial staff to revive the boy were unsuccessful, she said.

"Our heartfelt prayers go out to the family of the child," said Stevens.

Officials declined to identify the object on which Cobb choked, but family members told the Daily News it was a pushpin or thumbtack used on a school project.

Marlborough's school bus services are contracted out to First Student Inc. A First Student spokeswoman said the bus driver followed proper procedure by pulling over and contacting authorities as soon as the driver was alerted by other passengers Cobb was choking.

"The driver stopped the school bus, called 911, and within minutes the child had medical attention," said Nicole Maddock, a company spokeswoman.

Stevens said as school officials attempted to notify the mother, she called because the bus was running late. While a staff member kept the mother on the line, a police car was dispatched to her home to take her to the hospital, Stevens said.

Grief counseling is available to students at the Francis J. Kane Elementary School, which houses grades kindergarten through three. Emergency personnel will be debriefed this afternoon.

"It hits a lot harder on our guys when it's a youngster," said Fire Chief David Adams. "It's a parent's worst nightmare."